BACK TO ARCHIVE INDEX © All written site content is copyright ComeOnBoro.com 2004-2007, unless otherwise stated, and is not to be used without prior permission.	McCLAREN URGES CALM Steve McClaren has ordered his England team to stay calm and urged the referee to be strong in the face of intimidation from Andorra this evening. McClaren expects the Group E minnows to provoke his players when they take on England at Old Trafford. Wayne Rooney snapped in the face of Portugal's wind-up merchants at the World Cup but the England boss will not be happy if anyone is a sent off against the part-timers from the Pyrenees. McClaren said: "What I am going to stress to the players is that we keep under control and not get antagonised. "In all the tapes I've watched, they've been very aggressive in their tackling, are not afraid to upset opponents and to get involved." Holland's Phillip Cocu was sent-off when his temper snapped against the Andorrans in a World Cup qualifier. Austrian referee Bernard Brugger will be in charge at Old Trafford and the England camp want him to eradicate any dirty tricks. McClaren said: "Cocu got sent off in the Holland game and in the Romania game there were quite a few incidents where players came together. "What I am looking for tomorrow is a strong referee. "We talk about treating Andorra with respect, like playing Brazil, and I think refs have to do that at international level. "They are refereeing a match between a smaller team and a bigger team and they have to treat it the same. "Andorra will get 11 players behind the ball, defend deep. They are very organised and disciplined and hard to break down. "They are very aggressive in their tackling. They put themselves about. They are not easily beaten. "They give free-kicks away and we just need to be wary. We must stay in control, stay calm and finish the game with 11 players on the park. "They do commit many fouls and we need to be in control and the ref needs to be strong." Despite his concerns, McClaren could barely have had an easier game for his first competitive fixture as England boss. Andorra are ranked 132nd in the world and arrived in Manchester without two of their best players. Leading scorer Ildefonso Lima, who plays for Italian Serie B club Triestina, is serving a six-match ban for spitting at an Armenian player in a World Cup qualifier. The team's only other professional player is Marc Bernaus but Andorra have agreed to let him play for his club Elche in the Spanish second division this weekend. It all suggests another Old Trafford romp for McClaren, who started his reign with a 4-0 win against Greece last month, but he will not be complacent. McClaren said: "We have to treat every opponent with respect, make sure we do the job, be professional and treat Andorra like we were playing Brazil or Argentina. "We must make sure the preparation is right. That's my job and the staff's job. "If we do our jobs professionally and put in a good performance, then I expect us to win the game. "Beating Andorra will not prove anything - but it is a test and one of the key tests for any good or great team is to beat the teams they should beat." Macedonia away on Wednesday will be trickier for McClaren's team but two wins from these two games would provide the perfect platform for qualification. Russia and Croatia will be the true contenders for the top two places, which will qualify automatically for the finals in Switzerland and Austria. McClaren said: "We need to be consistent, we need to quality for Euro 2008. That's our ultimate goal now. "Six points from two games is the target and that is the expectation. We have to make sure we perform and attain that." England found out how hard it can be to break down a stubborn team from the lower reaches of FIFA's world rankings when they faced Trinidad and Tobago in the World Cup. Two late goals secured a 2-0 win but it was far from routine. McClaren said: "Patience is going to be a key word. We must keep playing football and keep moving the ball. "We must have width and penetration, crosses going into the box and keep the ball moving at a good tempo. "Trinidad put 11 behind the ball and it was difficult to break them down and we lost our patience a little bit. "We need to make sure we keep that and keep the width." Meanwhile, McClaren has praised Jermain Defoe for overcoming World Cup heartbreak as the Tottenham striker looks to further push his claims for a regular England spot in the European Championship qualifier with Andorra. Defoe was on standby for the World Cup for the three weeks prior to the tournament but did not board the plane for Germany as Sven-Goran Eriksson opted instead to take unproven Theo Walcott. It was a shattering experience for 23-year-old Defoe, who two years ago scored his only England goal to date on his full debut against Poland. But McClaren was impressed with his attitude and professionalism and included him in the starting XI for his first match in charge against Greece when he formed a formidable partnership alongside Peter Crouch. McClaren said: "We've worked hard with Jermain Defoe. I've always liked Jermain. He is a player I've admired. What I like about Jermain is the way he took the disappointment of not being selected for the World Cup. "I was with him during that period. It is tough for a player knowing they are on standby and knowing they then have to go home. But he was so professional. Every day he came and worked hard to prove a point and now he has come back into this squad. "I think it has given him a lift in that we have the confidence to play him and his performance against Greece said why he should be in the team. "I've said to the players 'they have got the shirts, they have got to make sure they keep them'." McClaren is not overly concerned about Defoe struggling to claim a regular first-team spot at White Hart Lane during the initial part of the Premiership campaign. He said: "Strikers are a different breed to any other player. They build their confidence on scoring goals, on being picked and the consistency of that. "Ideally all the players playing for England should be playing for their clubs regularly but Jermain has got the game and he proved that against Greece." McClaren has opted to keep faith with Defoe although he admitted Andrew Johnson is pushing hard for a place after showing impressive form following his move from Everton. He said: "It is one I had to debate. I have seen a great difference in Andy Johnson this time since joining England compared to other occasions. "His move to Everton, playing back in the Premier League, and playing well and scoring goals means you can see the confidence in his face when he joins up and we've got competition. "Darren Bent is scoring goals and Peter Crouch's international record is phenomenal and he is also scoring goals for Liverpool. But Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch played well against Greece." McClaren has worked hard in helping to foster team spirit since the disappointment of Germany but concedes ultimately it will be dictated by results. He said: "The lads have come back together, been very good and there is a great spirit amongst them at the moment and we are trying to work on that off the field. "But ultimately spirit, togetherness and that bonding comes from winning matches. We started well against Greece and we need to continue that. "There was great disappointment around the country and from the players and the staff when we went out of the World Cup because everyone felt we came back too early. "Therefore you have a low spirit in the camp. What I am saying is we need to build that up and make it better and make sure one, we qualifying for the European Championships and two, when we get into that arena again, we do better." By Bettingzone.co.uk Used with permission. SEND THIS TO A FRIEND ENGLAND v ANDORRA & MACEDONIA MATCH PROGRAMME INDEX
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